Overreacting
by DameMaggie
Summary: Albus and Minerva finally reaveal their feelings but, what happens when they quarrel and Minerva snaps at her favourite student?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter one: Relaxing.**

Minerva McGonagall was there, where he had expected her to be, still not noticing him. She was so beautiful, just sitting there, correcting essays. She looked lonely, maybe a bit tired and stressed; after all, she was dealing with far too many things, he knew, and she still had time to worry about the people arround her. She had always been a brave and straight woman, and that´s what he loved about her, her character, her strictness and her stern appearance which hid behind it, worry, softness and much more love than what he imagined.

That softness that she wished she could reveal openly, but which she only revealed to a few. He knew, because he was one of those few and he loved to be so. In fact, he loved her; he loved her inmensly and he had just understood that it was time for truth. He, Albus Dumbledore, would tell his dearest Minerva how he felt about her, and no matter her reaction, he had decided that he would help her relax and take it easy, at least for a few days.

Her head was splitting into two, the pile of essays to correct was huge and it was time for dinner already... well, it had been...an hour ago. Her hand was scibbling rapidly across pieces of parchment. _Miss Granger,_ she laughed to herself as she wrote a huge O´ at he top of the essay. She stopped. She suddenly remembered the times when she had been a student, Albus´ student. She remembered her grades at Transfiguration and how he had smiled warmly at her every time he had handed her her corrected piece of work.

She remembered his sparkling, terribly deep blue eyes and she wished they belonged to her...she wished to be staring into them right now and she wished she only had the courage to tell him how she felt, how much she loved him. She wondered what it would be like to feel his soft, warm lips against her stern, thin ones.

_How could he ever love someone like me? I´m an old, stern Transfiguration teacher and for him, a mere colleague._ She sighed_ I only wish my students could see who i truly am, or aim to be, at least._

"Minerva?" her thoughts were interrupted by a deep, kind voice which surprisingly for her came from the opposite side of her desk. She looked up and fell into a deep, light-blue pool of joy, Albus.

"Minerva, dear,"he whispered as he received no answer."Are you all right? You look so tired...actually, you look exhausted."

"I-I"she stammered nervously." I ´m fine, thank you."

"I´m sorry, but I cannot believe you. I mean, you didn´t show up for dinner, I haven´t seen you in...I don´t know, five days and...well, I don´t want to be disrespectful Minerva but you look awful."

At this she shot a glance upward, and tears started filling her eyes, _did he really mean that? Do I look that bad?She had heard many professors and students say this, but he?_But she wouldn´t let her tears fall, no, she wouldn´t give him that satisfaction. She was a bit confused, he had never said anything like that to her, not in all the years they had known eachother. She had standed this from her Slytherin students and she could(in a way) understand them, but this...this went far beyond that.

"Albus, if you want to criticize my image i would suggest you to join my students! I´m sure they would agree with your ideas!"

"Minerva please don´t missunderstand me, I-"

"I think I undestand perfectly well."

She raised to her feet and stood beside her desk; he did as well. They were facing eachother, Minerva´s eyes reflected anger, but he knew he could soften her. Her penetrating gaze would have scared anyone, but not Albus, not him, who had known her for so long. Her nostrils flared with anger and there, in her green eyes he saw, not Minerva, but Professor McGonagall. He lifted his hand to her face and caressed her cheek with his thumb. Her anger seemed to dissappear after a moment, but it was reaplaced with some tears. After a short silence she leaned into his touch, knowing that she had little opportunities like this one.

He noticed, as she leaned into his touch, that her expression changed drastically, from one of worry and unease to one of compassion and pleasure. He knew this woman like his own wand, he knew how to please her.

"Minerva, I didn´t mean to offend you in any way, I meant that you look very tired not that you literally look awful."He used his thumb to hush her as she opened her mouth to speak and as soon as it touched her lips, she kissed it. Albus was surprised, but continued with his speech."You are a gorgeous woman, extremely attractive and intelligent. I just want you to take it easy; I know there´s a lot of work to be done but sometimes one cannot deal with everything oneself, my dear. If you cannot get something done on time, then tell tell me and i will understand perfectly ."

"Albus, I´m sorry for overreacting, but you don´t understand, the students´ essays-"

"Hush, Minerva" he whispered as he placed a peck on her cheek and led her to a nearby chair. She didn´t object as he tranfigured it into a more comfortable one and gestured for her to seat. She did as told and found herself relaxing as he massaged her tense shoulders. Her painful back started to loosen and waves of pleasure seemed to emanate from the places where his hands touched her. Soft, slight gasps and moans of pleasure started emerged from her mouth(she was quite surprised).

His hands stopped for a second and untied her tigh bun, loosening her dark, brilliant hair and massaging her scalp. This last treatment eased her headache and made her feel quite released after having used that bun for over 39 years in his presence.

He bent down and inhalled her perfume, enjoying the lavender scent of her ebony hair. She released a slight moan, between clenched teeth. He then, placed a kiss on her neck, obliging her to pull her head backwards to grant him better access. He continued to place kisses down her neck and teasing with her hair.

Then, it was too much, she turned to him and kissed him on the mouth. He felt her soft lips against his, they were all what he had imagined and more: soft, talented and warm. He kissed back, deepening the kiss, thinking that he would go mad with love any moment now.

When she felt his tounge lick her lower lip, begging for an access that she granted him most willingly, she cupped his face in her hands, pulling him towards her. Soon, she was pressed to the back of the chair, savouring his sweet mouth. They eventually broke apart, in desperate need of some air, and he proceeded to peck her lips lightly. Meanwhile his hands started unbuttoning the upper part of the dress, revealing some new flesh, exposing it to the cold, night air.

McGonagall trembled as Albus placed a sweet kiss on the white pure, skin. Sensing this he halted his actions and looked at her inquiringly.

"Albus," her quick breaths making it difficult to talk. "What on the name of Meriln´s beard are we doing?" he reached for her hand and kissed it´s palm before answering,

"I´m showing you how beatiful you are."

He continued to unbutton the dress until he reached her waist where he stopped. He instead started pulling down the upper part of the dress which lay open, leaving her naked from the waist, upwards. He felt she was tense and that´s how he least wanted her to feel, he thought that maybe she was unsure about her feelings. However, the sounds that elicted from her mouth made him believe that she was pleased. He couldn´t understand it, so he decided to continue to see if he could make her relax.

He directed his attention to her breasts, licking them through the thin fabric as if they were ice-cream cones.

"I love you Albus, more than i can explain."

Hearing this, he grabbed a chair and sat in front of her. He bent down and started kissing all the way up her stomch, gently savouring each bit of flesh, until he reached her lips once again. He captured them briefly in his own.

"I love you too my darling, i love you too."

And with this said, he reached for her bra and unhooked it reavealing her perfect breasts completely. He sensed her nervousness once again, so he stopped, he stood and placed himself behind her. He once again started massaging her now bare showlders.

"Minerva, i have loved you for many years now, and i can wait if you don´t feel ready. I want you to relax and enjoy this, i won´t force you to do anything you don´t want to."

TBC.


	2. This is no game

**Chapter two: This is no game.**

Minerva looked at him in the eyes, those deep, light-blue, sparkling eyes which reflected so much love. She really wanted for him to continue, but she was unsure of what to do. But she was a Griffindor, she knew how to control herself, or at least she thought she could.

"I´d love for you to continue" she whispered, a reasuring smile playing on her lips.

That was all he needed to hear. He lifted her in his strong arms and carried her to the back of her office, where a cold brickwall bloqued their way. He whispered the password and an oak door appeared, opening itself and revealng a long, narrow hallway, leading to Minerva´s private quarters. He carried her to her bedroom and deposited her half-naked body on the huge, four poster bed.With a wave of his wand, all clothes were discarded and layed forgotten on the floor. He left his wand and their glasses on the night table and joined her in the bed.

As he started laying kisses all over her body, her nervousness started to fade and all too soon she had forgotten about everything. The world dissappeared as he carressed her body and allowed her to place kisses on his strong chest. Their moans and gasps grew louder as their desire for the other grew as well.

She positioned herself over him, deciding that it was her turn to please him. She bent down and licked a sensitive spot of his neck, just where it joined with the showlder. She run one of her slender hands through his beard, noticing how soft it was but put it down quickly to be able to maintain her balance.Her hands went down, caressing his chest and then his abdominals, finally reaching the symbol of his manhood.

His hands, which had been drawing circular patterns on her back, managed to move to cup her breasts. He caressed them, taking his time to give the same treatment to each of them, playing with her nipples. He adored her breasts but he obliged his urge to touch her inner tights; her reaction was inmediate and one that he would´ve never expected from Minerva McGonagall. She raised on her knees and pulled her head backwards, granting him full access to the whole of her torso. He tortured her by caressing her tights a bit longer and then touched her where she most wanted him to touch her, crooking his fingers inside her.

This last action seemed to be a kind of awakening and when she looked intently into his eyes, he understood that she couldn´t resist any longer. He took his fingers out and pulled her down, moving his hands to her hips.

She caught his lips in hers as he entered her, drowning the sounds of pleasure they had been about to emit. The kiss grew deeper as they expressed all their passion; his tongue exploring her mouth once again. They moved together, adjusting their rythm to their needs and wants, whispering eachother´s names (when they were not kissing). After reaching culmination, they allowed themselves to lay on the bed under the warm sheets, secure on eachother´s arms.

They enjoyed that wonderful time in which all they needed was the other´s warmth; all they wanted, was to love and be loved.

* * *

Christmas holidays were over, and all those students who had been away, were now returning with happy looks on their faces. It was still early afternoon so most of them headed to their common rooms to unpack and get ready for the feast. 

Hermione had just returned from her trip to Scotland and was glad to be back at Hogwarts. She headed for the Griffindor tower where she was sure to find Harry and Ron, probably planning some joke with the Weasley twins.

"Hi Hermione!" Ron exclaimed as she entered the place. "Well? How was it?"

"How was what?" she asked, not daring to believe that Ron was asking her about her holidays.

"Your holiday, of course."

She thought about it for a second and then, realization dawned on her."Oh, now I understand." She said, as she noticed the greedy look on his face.

She rummaged in her handbag and took out two parcels, one she handed to Ron and the other one to Harry who had just approached to greet her. They both unrapped the parcels quickly and held the presents Hermione had got for them. A huge grin drew itself on Ron´s face as he held the Scottish kilt.

"Hermione...ehh..." Harry started, "no offense but, what would I want a Scottish skirt for?"

She was about to answer but Ron was quicker.

"Can´t you see, mate?" he laghed, "McGonagall´s class will become my favourite after this."

"Ronald, you´re not planning to do what I think you are planning to do, right?"

"What? No, just having some fun, Herm. Besides, old McGonagall wouldn´t mind, would she?"

"Don´t call her that!" she spat angrily at him.

"Why not?"His ears had turned red.

"Because it´s not nice! She´s a great professor!"

"Well, she´s not exactly nice with me. She made me clean the whole trophy room yesterday!"

"Well, you surely earned it, isn´t that so Harry?" she said turning to look at him.

"She´s right Ron," he said, a bit uncomfortable about betraying his friend. "I mean, that plant you put behind Malfoy´s desk almost strangled Neville."

"You what?" said Hermione, shooting a killing glance at him.

"It wasn´t my fault that Sprout had told us what they were for! Besides, i just borrowed it for a while."he said casualy " You should´ve seen McGonagall´s face when that giant stem rose from behind Malfoy´s seat."He started laughing uncontrolably at the memory of this.

"Listen to me Ronald, if you even think of doing anything like this with that kilt and i get to know, I won´t speak to you anymore!"

"Oh okay, okay. I don´t know why you like her so much."He managed to say without laughing.

And with this, they sat on a table and Hermione listened carefully to everything that had been going on during the past weeks aside from the small insident during Transfiguration class.

* * *

"Minerva?" he called, as he peered into the classroom. 

She lifted her sight from the papers she was reading only to find Albus staring at her. She smiled at him but she was not in the mood to hold it for long. She had been so busy lately, that she hadn´t been able to sleep more than two or three hours, and it seemed that the more she worked, the more she needed to do. Dark circles had appeared under her eyes and her mood seemed to get worse with each passing hour of work.

"Hi, Albus." Her voice souded weak, tired.

He approached her desk and sat on the chair opposite hers.

"How many times do i have to tell you to give it a rest?"he asked her. He had told her several times now, but she wouldn´t listen. He had told her to sleep and try to rest for the beggining of classes but all she had done was sit on her desk and work all day long; lesson plans, letters, projects, exams, everything seemed to be more important than herslef.

"Albus, please leave me alone, i need to finish these and answer some letters and i´ll join you at the Great Hall for the feast, okay?"

"No Minerva, it´s not okay, i´ve been telling you to relax, to rest and you don´t seem to be listening to what i´m saying."

"I´m listening Albus, it´s just that i really need to get these done on time."

"They can wait,"he said, putting his hand on hers. "your health can´t, love."

"Okay, I´ll join you downstairs in a minute, okay? Just give me a minute." She answered, turning her head towards the parchments she was working on again. She started scribbling furiously as he sighed.

"One minute, love, I shall wait for you downstairs." Saying this, he left, leaving Minerva completely caught up in her work.

He got to the Great Hall and headed for the staff table and sat on his chair. He could see the students were glad to be back, they were all smiling and talking cheerfully(at least, most of them were).He wished his Minerva could be in that state, sitting right beside him, as she had always done, talking to him about some new Transfiguration book she had read.

Honestly, he had never seen her so stressed, but what bothered him the most was that he had been insisting on this and she wouldn´t even mind. She would just turn her head to the papers on her desk and go on, murmuring something like yes I´ll get some more sleep tonight´or yes, I will ask for dinner as soon as I finish´. He knew that she didn´t do all of that, she just said it to make him feel alright, but she wouldn´t deceive him, not this time. If she didn´t come tonight he would have to **_do_** something about it, even if that meant throwing all those pieces of parchment through the window.

Everyone was looking at him expectantly, and as soon as he noticed, he knew he had waited enough. He rose to his feet and silence spread across the room.

"Welcome back!I trust you enjoyed your holidays. Now, i´d like you to know that the Ministry has given the order to place Dementors all over the surroundings, to guard the castle. I must ask you to be carefull and should you have any inconvenient related to this issue you´re most welcome to approach me or Professor McGonagall, in my absence." He finished as he glanced at the empty chair beside him. With a wave of his hand, the food appeared on the tables and the students started eating hungrily.

For everyone´s surprise, Albus, did not eat, he didn´t even take a bite of his food as he clenched his fork thighly on his fist. As the night went on, Albus´ hand turned more and more purple because of the great strength he was using to bend the piece of cutlery.

Poppy Pomfrey rose from her seat and asked him if anything was the matter and when he answered no, she knew that he was lying.

"Is it because of Minerva?" He looked at her and nodded, not caring to look peaceful any longer.

"Excuse me headmaster." She said, straightening and walking out of the great hall.

He was furious, he had told Minerva, he had warned her(in a way). He cared for her but he couldn´t believe that she was so stubborn. He was harming herself and he wouldn´t allow it, no.

As soon as everyone had finished, he left the hall, his face was already red with anger. He would show this woman that this was no game.

TBC.


	3. His overreaction

**Chapter three: His overreaction.**

Albus stormed into her office only to find Minerva sitting at her desk, writing, while Poppy Pomfrey sat by her side, her a hand resting on Minerva´s shoulder. Poppy had, apparently, been trying to tell her something the moment he walked into the room. They both looked up, amazed, as he burst into the room. As he noticed the look on their faces, he tried to calm down but found out that he couldn´t.

"Minerva!"

"Albus?"

"You said you would come down for dinner." He said as he approached her desk.

"Well, I didn´t." She stated simply. "I told you I had to finish."

"And I told you to rest! Minerva, I´m worried about you and all you do is sit back and watch how I make a fool of myself!"

Minerva couldn´t believe her ears, he had never been so agressive. He was always patient and understanding, he wasn´t the kind of person who would usually raise his voice level more than necessary.

"Make a fool of yourself?"Poppy asked, a bit surprised by this statement.

"Yes! I mean, she doesn´t even listen to what I say!" He said, turning to face Poppy. "She´s as stubborn as a mule!"

"What did you just say!?" Minerva rose to her feet, the dark circles beneath her eyes becoming even more visible."That I´m what?"

"You are the most stubborn woman I´ve ever met! I can´t believe that you care more about a few papers than of yourself!"

"And what if I do? Besides, you are my boss, you are the one who gives me half of this work."

"That is not the point!"

"Oh, I believe it is headmaster!" she yelled "What happens here is that you are not letting me do my job properly!"

"I´m not letting you what!? I´m asking you to eat! To sleep for more than two hours, for God´s sake!"he spat angrily.

"Minerva, he does have a point, you know. You are barely sleeping and you don´t eat, that is no good." Poppy commented casually.

"You too!?"She turned to her friend and looked at her intenly as if she couldn´t believe what she had just heard.

"See? Even your best friend is telling you!" They were both looking at Poppy now.

"N-no, wait I-I just...ehhh...I need to...eh...go" She stammered as she saw Minerva´s look turn from a surprised one into a stern one. It was one of those looks she would often use on her students. " I´d better leave you so you can discuss this alone."She turned around and left the room.

"You know what?" Minerva turned to Albus once more. "If you need to release your anger, do it somewhere else!I don´t want to stand your stupid overreactions!"

"AND YOU WON´T!" he shouted as he drew out his wand. He waved it, pointing at the papers on her desk which dissappeared inmediately.

Minerva had taken her wand out too, but he had been quicker.

"NO!" she screamed as she saw all her hard work turn into thin air. Her face turned red, now she was really angry."WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU´RE DOING!?"

"I´m doing what I should have done a week ago!When I realised that you wouldn´t listen to me!" He turned around and left her dumbfounded right where she was standing.

It was only ten minutes later that she realised that she was standing by her desk, staring into nothingness.She moved to her rooms and sat on the edge of the bed, thinking. Tears were running down her cheecks as she remembered the night when they had made love in that same bed. A warming sensation went down her spine at the memory of it.She was no longer angry, but terribly confused.

_Why did he do that? He was so angry...I´ve never seen him act like that. I wonder if he´s really angry, if he really meant what he said._´ She shivered as she remembered his harsh words:_She as stubborn as a mule! You´re the most stubborn woman I´ve ever met!´_ She burst into tears, she couldn´t believe this. He loved her..._He loved her..._

_Yes, but he yelled at me, he insulted me...he couldn´t have done it because of love. I refuse to believe it, I can´t believe it. His reaction to the whole situation was completely irrational, he just turns up in __**my**__ office and yells at me because i do not sleep; because I sit down and work on the papers __**he **__gave me!This is...unbelievable...I don´t know..should I be angry?Or should I try to understand his reasons?´_

She lay on her bed, confused, hurt. She closed her eyes wishing she would wake up and realise that it had just been a bad dream. But she didn´t. She just couldn´t stop thinking, thinking, and thinking...

* * *

Albus entered his office having released his anger, as Minerva had stated earlier. He sat on the couch and turned on the fire. He felt bad about what he had done to her, but this was the only way he could think of to make her rest, taking her work from her. He didn´t even know why he was so obsessed with this but he really wanted her to rest, he needed her to be strong, he needed her to be by his side... 

There was a knock on the door. He wasn´t in the mood to receive anyone, but it could be important. He stood up and opened the door, only to reveal Poppy Pomfrey.

"Poppy. Please come in, take a seat." His voice was calm but she had noticed the pain behind those light-blue eyes, she had seen the lack of sparkle in them.

He moved aside and gestured for her to come in, which she did. She sat on the couch, where he joined her a few seconds later, after closing the door. He didn´t look at her in the eyes until she spoke.

"Albus...I don´t want to seem...eh...well, what you did was a bit...ehhh...rather excesive, I believe." She was a bit scared of saying this to her boss, but she had to.

He looked at her a bit confused "But, you...went away...how do you..."

"Oh," she interrupted"I eavesdropped. I know it wasn´t right of me to do so, but I couldn´t help myself."

"That´s alright. Yes, you are right, it **was** excesive, I didn´t mean to do it, she doesn´t deserve it." He lowered his gaze, a bit ashamed as he realized about what he had done, but lifted it as he noticed that she had taken his hands in hers. She was smiling.

"I´m glad to hear you say that. However I must say, as I did before, that you do have a point in what you are saying. She has those dark circles under her eyes and she had lost a few pounds, I am truly worried about it. I also think that we must do something about it, just, try to be carefull and not to overreact."

"Thank you, my dear." he said. There was a pause, a short silence before he sighed and continued."Do you think she will forgive me if I apologize?"

"Of course Albus; she loves you."

"Then, I must ask, what kind of flowers does she like?"

"Well, if I remember correctly, she´s rather fond of roses. The red ones, of course."

"I believe I will need your help, my dear. You see, I am planning something that will not only will be perfect for an apologize but for some relaxation as well."

"Well then, I will be most glad to help, tell me what you´re up to."

TBC.


	4. Snap

Chapter four: Snap.

Hermione woke up ten minutes earlier than usual. She felt excited; this would be her first Transfigurations class since the return from the Christmas holidays. It was her favourite class, and Professor McGonagall was, of course, her favourite teacher. She didn´t know why she admired the woman so much, she just did.

She thought of her professor as a formidable, stern, yet kind woman. She wouldn´t usually show her softer side, at least not in front of the whole class, but when she did, one could see how much she cared for her students and that she wasn´t only a stern, old witch as many people thought.

She put her robes on and walked out of the almost empty common room(Fred and George were sitting on a corner, apparently planning something and a girl was reading a magazine on the couch). She went down and sat on the Gryffindor table which was completely empty. In the Great Hall there were only a few Ravenclaws sitting on the next table and a group of Hufflepuffs. As she waited for Harry and Ron to arrive, she saw Professor McGonagall head for the staff table. She looked exhausted and her face was pale; her expression was somewhat depressed and her usually tidy bun had let a few strands of hair fall out.

She watched her professor seat and summone a cup of tea. She drunk it quickly, got up and got out of the place opening the doors and letting Ron and Harry in. They sat with her and within a few minutes the tables were full of people and breakfast had been served.

Hermione was a bit surprised by her professor´s behaviour; she looked so tired...and she had just taken a cup of tea and left the hall, not even staying to have a brief chat with the headmaster, something she usually did every morning.

Harry and Ron didn´t ask anything about her quietness, instead they talked among themselves, thinking that she would probably be thinking about a knew book she had read. But she finally spoke.

"Have you noticed McGonagall´s not here?"

"Well...yeah. I mean, she was going out when we came in."Ron replied, his mouth full of toast.

"Well, isn´t that strange?"

"Who cares?"

"Well it IS strange,"Harry said "she´s always here for breakfast."

"So what?She´s deputy headmistress, she must have many things to do." Ron said, pouring some more pumpkin juice into his glass.

"Yes, but it´s still strange," she said. "she never missed brakfast before."

None of them said anything else, they changed he topic and half an hour later they were entering their Transfiguration class. Ron and Harry sat together while Hermione sat with Parvati Patil. Professor McGonagall had been waiting for them, apparently grading some essays.

She again, noticed her somewhat messy appearance and as soon as she started speaking, her tired voice. She seemed to be troubled, concerned and all she did was to give them pages to read from the book, something they didn´t usually do in class, thay had always read the book as a homework.

She noticed Harry´s hand holding out a paper for her to take when McGonagall wasn´t looking. She took it and unfolded it.

**_You´re right, she´s acting strangely._**

**_Yeah, she looks tired, doesn´t she?_**

**_Harry and Ron._**

Hermione was suprised to see Ron´s signature, but she answered and continued reading the book, or at least, trying to. She decided that she would ask her professor after the class if anything was the matter.

* * *

The bell rang and Minerva´s headache was the worst she had ever experienced, and now, she knew that Albus wouldn´t be there to help her with it. She had been crying almost all night, but she had managed to sleep a few hours. A horrible, short sleep, and a nightmare that had tormented her all day. 

Her mood couldn´t be worse. She didn´t have the energy, the strengh, the...nothing, she didn´t have the attitude to afront any kind of situation, not even a student.

"Professor?" Hermione called as she approached Mnerva´s desk.

"Miss Granger," she stated coldly, not gazing into her student´s eyes. "in case you haven´t noticed, class is over."

"I-I...just" she stammered a bit surprised by her professor´s tone towards her.

"You what?"

"I...wanted to...know if you´re ...alright."

"What do you mean!? Does it look like i´m alright!?"

Now she was really frightened, she hadn´t said anything bad had she?

"Well-I yes...I mean... I-I- hon-honestly d-don´t know."

"You think I look tired don´t you!? You too think I´m weak!"

"I-I don´t know what you´re talking about" Hermione´s voice was trembling, she couldn´t understand her professor´s anger. She had never said she was weak.

"So, how many students are talking about my appearance?"

"Professor, what on earth are you saying!?" Hermione´s voice level had raised far more than her professor had expected it to.

"I know perectly well what kind of person you think i am! You believe I´m an old, stern witch who just cares about correcting essays and yelling at her students, don´t you?"She had stood up and sat on the floor, leaning back on her desk´s side, her face in her hands. Hermione kneeled down beside her and put her hand on her shoulder to confort her, but she shook it of briskly, never gazing into her brown eyes.

"Go away girl, I don´t want to talk with you right now!" And that was the last straw, Hermione Granger had had enough of this nonsense.

"I don´t know what is going on with you!" Tears started falling down Hermione´s cheecks. She hadn´t realized, it hadn´t been voluntary, but this was her favourite professor, the person she looked up to, the person she admired. "I just wanted to help, to ask if if there was anything I could do! And now you speak to me as if I had criticized your appearance! If you´re angry then I suggest you to look for someone else to scream at, because I won´t be stepping into this class any more!" She turned around and stormed out of the classroom.

"What have I done?" Minerva whispered to herself when Hermione was out of sight.

TBC.

* * *

**A/N:Thanks for reading!! I didn´t update before because I´ve got lots of exams and a huge pile of homework. Hope you´ve enjoyed it.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter four: Talking.

Minerva couldn´t understand, at first, why everything had happened. Well...in fact, she did, but her own tears were blinding her, keeping her from the truth. So, she cried until she understood that tears wouldn´t solve anything and when she had just understood it the time came. It was time for dinner...

She stood up from her chair beside the fire and wiped her tears away. She would apologize to Hermione, and then she would settle things right with Albus. They had both acted in the most childish way and now they were both hurt. She smoothed her robes and walked out of her office.

She felt cold as she walked through the hallways and she felt a sudden urge to run away from everything; yet the feeling wore off so quickly that she didn´t even notice it. She could feel her body´s tiredness and her lack of strength. But she didn´t notice the dementor approaching her.

She managed to reach the main staircase...she could see the Grat Hall´s door now...and then she saw it. Than black figure was now standing before her. She reached for her wand but when she had managed to take it out she felt that cold in her heart...everything went black.

* * *

Albus had looked for Minerva in her office, in her classroom and even in her private quarters, but he hadn´t been successful. He decided to look for her at the grounds...but, it was already dinner time. He´d do it after dinner, maybe she would attend tonight´s feast. 

He went down the hallway that led to the main staircase. He felt an all too familiar sensation of coldness...and then, he saw it.

Minerva was lying unconcious on the floor and hovering abouve, almost touching her beautiful, porcelain face, was the dementor. He run down the stairs and took out his wand in less than a second.

"Expecto Patronum!" he yelled.

A silver phoenix emerged from the tip of his wand to chase the dementor. As soon as the dementor was five feet away, he rushed to Minerva´s side. He stroke her face and a tear went down his cheek.

"Oh, my Minerva," he whispered, "I´m so sorry. Look what it did to you...you look so weak."

He kissed her cold cheek and scooped her into his arms. He raised to his feet and went up the stairs, but he didn´t head for the enfarmary, he took her to his quarters. When they were there, he deposited her on his large bed and sat beside her, until she opened her eyes.

She saw those kind eyes staring at her and all the happiness she had lost came back to her. She got lost into them and murmured the only word that came to her mind.

"Albus."

"Minerva," he gasped as he bent down to kiss her lips hungrily after all that pain. She felt her smile in his kiss and so he surrounded her waist with his strong arms. They could feel eachothers´ warmth and they revived their love in just one kiss; in just one blessing moment. He caressed her and made her feel how sorry he was and how much he really loved her.

"I´m so sorry my darling, I-I was worried and-and I didn´t know what else to do, I just-" she placed a delicate finger on his lips.

"I know. I´m sorry as well, I should have listened to you."

"Yes, but, I didn´t have to shout at you like that."

"That´s okay, my love. Everybody makes mistakes."

They kissed again, and when they finally broke apart she remembered her student. He felt her worry and asked her what was wrong.

"I did something terrible...I wasn´t thinking.",

He caressed her cheek lovingly, and as she leaned into his touch, she told him the whole story. When she had finished, she was crying once more.

"That´s okay my darling, don´t cry." he whispered in reasurance as he hugged her. "I am sure that if you talk to her, Miss Granger will understand. She is a sensible girl, you´ve always said that, but now I want you to rest, I´ll order dinner and you will eat and sleep properly."

"But, Albus, the papers-"

"I´ll do them for you my dear." he kissed her once more and looked at her."I love you."

"I love you too."

They ordered dinner and changed into some more comfortable clothes. They were both tired and glad to be able to sleep in eachother´s arms, in eachother´s warmth. Albus wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close to him once they were under the sheets. There were no noises and Minerva could feel her tiredness now more than ever.

"Tomorrow, after you talk to Miss Granger, I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" she enquired.

"Yes, and it´s only for you."


	6. Fixing

Fixing.

Hermione was sitting on the coach, staring at the enchanting flames of the fire. Sparkling tears were falling down her face. She was thinking about what had happened that afternoon and if she had done the right thing. She had yelled at professor McGonagall and said that she wouldn´t step into her class anylonger; she was still angry. It was half past eleven and she couldn´t even think about going to bed; her head kept replaying that afternoon´s scene one time after the other. Doubts and thoughts kept appearing in her mind, not letting her think about anything else.

Her greatest worry was that she didn´t know what she would do, she really needed Transfiguration for her NEWTs and she didn´t want to drop it. But, now she would have to. In her chest, she felt that horrible sensation of pain, a pain that felt like a knot in her throat and didn´t let her breathe.

She burst into tears, not caring about those who were in bed.

"Hermione?" a voice called from somewhere behind her. She turned around and found herself staring into Ron´s eyes, she hadn´t seen him enter the common room.

"What´s wrong?" He sat by her side on the coach. "You can tell me."

She smiled, "I…had an…an argument with…Professor McGonagall."

"Oh, please not her again! Now will you let me wear the kilt for her class? Just imagine her face when she sees that!"

"No Ronald, no jokes. I´m not enetering that class ever again."

"What!?" he exclaimed "but you love that class."

"Preciselly." She stated, weeping the tears from her eyes.

"Well then…go and talk to her."

"But, it´s not that simple. _She_ was the one who yelled at me, she was angry with me and I still ingore the reason of her anger."

He sighed, "Well, I don´t know what to say then, we can´t expect her to come and ask for forgiveness."

"Why not?" came a femenine voice from the other side of the room. They turned their heads only to see professor McGonagall standing there, looking at them. Her face was pale and her expression wasn´t a stern one, it was softer and on her cheeks one could clearly notice that she had been crying.

"Professor." said Ron as he stood up. Hermione stood too, but then, Ron said the last thing she wanted him to say. "I´d better leave you alone so you can speak."

"That would be the best, thank you Mr. Weasley." McGonagall answered.

As soon as he had dissappeared from view, Minerva started approaching her student and when they were face to face a tear sleeped down her cheek.

Hermione´s expression was hard and severe. She was angry, Minerva could tell, and she had good resons to be so.

"Hermiome I-"

"You what!? When I worried about you, you yelled at me! Should I do the same now? I tell you, I will not approach your class ever again, I will study Transfigurations on my own, in the library, and then you will regret having done what you did. I don´t need a professor to pass my NEWTs examination!" with this, she run out of the common room, leaving her professor in tears in the middle of that room.

She couldn´t believe she had just done that; Professor McGonagall was still a school authority, but it was too much for her, she couldn´t stand her professor´s penetrating gaze any longer. She needed to go outside and breathe some fresh air. She knew that it wasn´t allowed to go outdoors at that time, but she had to. If only Ron and Harry were with her to brake the rules; they always gave her the courage to do so. She went up the huge staircase that lead to the astronomy tower.

When she opened the door and stepped into the fresh air, the stars were all she could see. There was no wind and no noise, everything was calm. She walked slowly, closing the door behind her. Her feet led her to the other side of the tower, where she was able to admire the lake below. She tried to ignore her angst and fury and closed her eyes; she wanted to relax a little bit, to forget about everything. And she did. She was so concentrated that she didn´t hear the steps behind her, five minutes afterwards.

When she felt a kind hand on her shoulder, she reacted. There was her professor again, staring at her with those usually stern eyes. But now, her eyes showed kindness, she didn´t look either stern or angry; she actually smiled. A tear streaked down her cheek as she looked at her student. Hermione looked at her, but didn´t say anything.

"Hermione" Minerva whispered lowering her gaze, "I´m terribly sorry. I didn´t treat you right yeasterday and I...I know you wanted to help and I apreciate it."

"Then, why did you react that way?" Hermione asked calmly. She was not so angry now, she wanted to know what had really happened. Minerva sighed.

"I had had an argument with a person...with a close friend and I was very angry with myself and...I don´t know exactly how to explain, but I was not in the best mood and when you approached and I reacted that way. Believe me, I didn´t want to, I was just too angry." There was a short silence.

"I understand." Hermione replied, "but if you are going to yell at me or any of my friends every time you have a personal problem then I´d rather skip your class."

She had said what she thought and nothing else. Hermione walked past her professor and out of the astronomy tower, without letting Minerva answer.

Minerva was standing alone again, now in the astronomy tower. She didn´t know what else to do, hadn´t her explanation been enough? Should she follow her student once more? No, it wouldn´t be of any help.

She suddenly heard steps behind her. Slow steps. She turned around only to meet Albus´ lovely eyes. He catched her lips in his own and enjoyed her soft warm kiss. Minerva relaxed in his arms and enjoyed that moment of happiness and love. She loved him, and she wanted to show him her love. She put her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. His warmth filled her completely and she savoured the his tounge as it explored her mouth. They broke appart in a matter of seconds for the lack of air, but Albus continued placing small kisses on her neck´s soft skin.

"Albus."she whispered.

"You were great darling, don´t worry about it any longer."

"What do you mean? She´s still angry. You heard her, she said she won´t step into my class ever again."

Albus stopped kissing her and looked into her gorgeous eyes. "I heard her, but you can do nothing else. Now I want you to come with me, i have somthing for you."

They went to their rooms and had a romantic dinner, with candles and flowers and music. Then, they made love passionately, but when they finally lay on bed, exhausted, Minerva was still thinking.

The next morning she entered her class and received the students. Everyone was sitting quietly, scribling on their pieces of parchment. From her desk, Minerva noticed the empty seat. She found it hard to maintain her stern face.

After all what had happened Minerva thought about how much she could hurt with her yelling. First Albus, then Hermione, what next? She didn´t want to yell at anybody else, she didn´t want to be in tears anymore.

"Professor?" a voice called from the now opened door.

"Hermione!" she exclaimed as she watched the child entering the classroom.

"Yes, its me. I had a problem with my socks, that´s why I´m late."

"That´s okay my dear." She smiled at her and her student understood. Hermione smiled back.

Minerva stood and when she was about to close the doors she saw him standing there, outside. He smiled at her and blowed a kiss, then he diassappeared.


End file.
